Tuesday, February 1, 2011

We have about 20 pounds of wild Alaskan salmon in the freezer that we bought this summer & I really need to start putting it in the menu. Problem is, I tend to think of salmon, & fish in general, as warm weather food not the hearty comforting stuff we like in the winter. Then I remembered a classic fish pie my friend made for her English husband a while back & realized that was just the ticket.

It may not be the prettiest dish but it's darn tasty.

I started looking a fish pie recipes online & there seems to be a lot of love out there for Jamie Oliver's. I don't think it's a very classic version, there's no white sauce for one thing, but oh, was it ever tasty & perfect for winter. It sounds really weird when you started reading the ingredients & method, grated carrot & celery as the base of the filling? Still, once cooked the flavors really blended together well & there is just a hint of sweetness that comes through which I found surprising. The salmon cooked up perfectly moist & flaky. I loved the fact there was very little precooking in this recipe except for the potatoes.

I stuck relatively close to Jamie's recipe in general but adapted based on what I had on hand. He used salmon, smoked haddock & prawns in his version. I chose to just use salmon which was more than enough fish in the pie. I cut back on the amount of cheese & added some sour cream to the filling. Finally, I added some milk to the potatoes to make them fluffier. We will make this again but next time I'll add some capers or olives for a little saltiness.

This is a great idea! The problem here is that Roberto is allergic to salmon but I love it. I could make one for myself and eat it over the course of a week for lunch! Thanks for solving my salmon problem!